


you are life i needed all along

by girlsonthetv



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Pre-Canon, leon and valbar should have gotten a memory prism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 19:45:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13442007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsonthetv/pseuds/girlsonthetv
Summary: Leon sees his first love's face in his dreams nearly every night. It's hard when he's convinced he has to deal with it alone. Valbar helps him change his mind about that.(aka, the memory prism valbar and leon should have gotten but didn't.)





	you are life i needed all along

Leon jolted awake with a cry as Jacob's scream rang in his ears. He'd somehow thrashed around in his sleep enough that his blanket was wrapped around him like a straitjacket, constricting his arms. He closed his eyes and groaned into his pillow, too wired to fall back asleep yet too tired to think. He needed to get more sleep; there was yet more training tomorrow, and an important mission the day after. He couldn't afford to lose any rest.

It was hardly his fault he saw Jacob's wide-eyed, staring corpse every time he fell asleep. He couldn't be blamed for the trauma of losing someone he loved more than all the stars in the sky in so crude and sudden a way. "But the other knights have no doubt endured much worse," he muttered to himself. "Just stop thinking about it and go to sleep." With that, he closed his eyes firmly in an attempt to force himself back to sleep that surprisingly enough, worked. His nightmare was waiting for him.

Blood is done dripping from Jacob's body, his heart having ceased its beating. It pooled in a ruby red puddle beneath his body. Jacob is long gone already. Leon feels tears drip down his face, his head aching. He kneels down to take his bow to bring back to the commander - and Jacob's corpse sits up with a frightening jerk and grabs Leon by the shoulders. His touch is slimy and cold and not at all comforting like it used to be. Leon wants to scream but the breath is stuck in his throat. "How could you let me die, Leon?" Jacob rasps. "I thought you loved me..."

Leon woke up to someone shaking him and nearly screamed again before seeing that it was Valbar, a member of his squadron. Valbar looks down at him worriedly. "I heard you yell, and I came to see what was the matter. You were having some dream."

"Yeah." Leon muttered. "Some dream." He unwound the blanket from around himself and hurriedly swiped the tears from his cheeks before sitting up to look Valbar in the eyes. He needed to show Valbar that he was okay - even if he really wasn’t. Knights had more than one set of armor, and Leon’s emotional set fit perfectly. Except when it didn’t.

Valbar looked down at his feet for a moment before offering a glass full of milk. "Do you want it? I always find nightmares make me thirsty."

Leon eyed the glass as if fearing it could be poisoned before taking it and carefully, deliberately drinking deep. It's warm milk, rich and sweet, and as he drinks he feels his anxieties fade. They're still there once the milk is gone, but he feels at ease for the first time in months. "Don't tell me you went all the way outside to fetch this just for me."

Valbar chuckled. "No, I...I got it for myself, but you seemed to need it more than me. There'll be more milk."

"You're so damned kind." Leon blurted out. It had been nagging at him ever Valbar had introduced himself with a firm handshake and a broad smile. "Why? How? Tell me your secret." Like most things he said to Valbar, it was only half-joking.

Valbar looks back and forth uncertainly. "I don't really have a secret. I heard a fellow knight in distress, and I came to help. Isn't that what they keep hammering into us to do?"

Leon chuckled. Valbar kept going, expression uncharacteristically serious. "Let me tell you something, Leon. I know how much Jacob meant to you." Leon felt like a rule had been broken by saying his name, and pulled his blanket up around his shoulders. "All knights lose people. We all carry that guilt with us - if only I had just done one thing differently. We all have nightmares, Leon. Don't ever be ashamed of your dreams or your grief." Valbar placed a hand on Leon's shoulder, ready to remove it if Leon showed the slightest sign of discomfort. It feels like protection, warm and safe.

Leon's throat felt tight. "Thank you, Valbar. For everything."

"Don't mention it." Valbar said with a grin. "If you ever need anybody to talk to about anything - grief, missions, how much training takes a toll - I'm here, and I'll listen."

Tears prick at the back of Leon's eyes. "I still hear his scream. Nearly every night."

Valbar holds him while he sobs into his chest, and his gentle hands on Leon's back feel like coming home.


End file.
